


Lovely.

by PeriodicallyBleeding



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Anxiety, Bullying, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mild Blood, Other, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slurs, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Therapy, Unhappy Ending, Violence, emo kid!josh, jock!tyler, non-cliche romance, pride issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-05 14:21:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4183095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeriodicallyBleeding/pseuds/PeriodicallyBleeding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tyler is a wannabe try-hard Jock, Josh is too big to fit in lockers, and everyone's either sassy or rude.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Synonym: Knockout.

**Author's Note:**

> Z_ai: After our rad collab on a smut chapter in "My Treehouse is On Fire," we bring u late night fic ideas. We're avoiding most cliche themes in the heavy stuff in later chapters- the first few are just cliche bullshit tho. woops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PeriodicallyBleeding: Yeah I don't even know how we came up with this idea but just roll with it yo, feedback would be appreciated! (:

_Blood._

A fist collides with my nose again, and again- I think they’ve broken a rib.

There’s a loud crunching sound against the front of my face as my head hits what I think might still be a concrete ground.

My senses are filled with blood; a watery, goo-like substance that smells rich of iron. My ears are ringing- I can’t see.

Where is he? He promised he’d be here; to protect me.

I can taste the blood now. I spit when I start to scream again.

I screamed louder, the ringing was deafening. I don’t know why the last word I could think of before blacking out was his name.

**_“Josh!”_ **

 

* * *

Josh let out a grunt followed by an antagonising laugh as Tyler slammed him against the locker.

“What the fuck are you laughing at?” Tyler spat at him, gripping his shirt tightly.

“You’re adorable.” Josh cooed, earning a glare from the other.

Tyler pulled Josh away from the locker, swinging it open. He latched onto Josh’s shirt once more, and began trying to push him into the small metal frame.

“Get in the locker.” Tyler rolled his eyes, pouting slightly. Josh huffed out another laugh as Tyler used all of his bodyweight to try and push him in.

“It’s so cute when you try.” Josh scrunched his nose up as he smiled, still being pushed against the locker.

“This is getting annoying, you’re annoying, just get in the goddamn locker!” Tyler raised his voice; the other students walking the hallway had now turned their attention to the two.

“How about you get in the locker?” Josh grinned, suddenly grabbing Tyler by his shirt and shoving him into the small space, slamming the door.

“LET ME OUT YOU ASSHOLE!” Tyler shouted as he pounded on the thin metal with his fists.

 

Josh flung his head back in laughter as he walked away from the locker and down the hallway towards his next class. The students looked on in amusement as the sound of fists hitting metal vibrated from the locker. Despite the noise he was making, no one made any move to open the locker door.

He gave up after about fifteen minutes of consistent shouting into an empty hallway, choosing to sulk instead. He was disappointed, mostly. He had expected this, really.

It wasn’t even that Josh was taller than him, or that there was much of a weight difference, either. He was just _bigger_ than Tyler, and a lot scarier, too. All dyed hair and strange piercings- Josh was _weird_. Tyler was not. Just about three sizes too small to accurately be called a “jock.” and he fit comfortably into a locker.

Fear was a good word to describe how Tyler felt when the door was opened, finally, by a rather large student; one that he knew as another so called “jock.”

“Emo freak showing you up again, huh, Joseph?” He laughed, staring Tyler down.

“Shut up, Dallon.” Tyler near-growled, stepping out of the locker. He quickly made a move to leave, only to be stopped by both Brendon and Rian, who had apparently come to back Dallon up for this. Whatever this was.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Brendon grinned widely, towering over Tyler. “We need to have a _little talk_ with you.”

“Dude,” Dallon stared at Brendon, “Creepy, and a little too sexual.”

“Anyway..” Dallon continued, taking a step closer to Tyler. “This is the third time that fucking _faggot_ has one-upped you, you need to step up your game.”

“Just fuck off, Dallon.” Tyler muttered under his breath as he went to walk away, only to have a hand latch onto his arm tightly.

“What did you say?” Dallon looked at him with wide eyes, tightening his grip on Tyler’s arm.

Tyler opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Brendon slamming him against the locker. Rian appeared beside Brendon, and Dallon took a step closer.

Tyler was cornered.

“Fucking pussy.” Dallon spat through gritted teeth, slamming his fist against the locker beside Tyler’s head.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from down the hallway.

 

 

 

_"Hey now, that's not very nice."_


	2. Antonym: Unpleasant.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter include fighting/blood/semi-graphic at times, and slurs.

**“Hey now, that’s not very nice.”**

 

Josh’s voice came from behind the group surrounding Tyler;

Dallon spun around to be greeted with a mess of red hair and piercings.

“Look who it is.” Brendon huffed out a laugh, “Coming to rescue the princess?”

“The only fucking princess I see around here is you, Urie.” Josh rolled his eyes, “Those shorts are so far up your ass they’re practically a skirt.”

“Aw Tyler! Is this your knight in shining armor?” Dallon smirked, holding Tyler trapped against the lockers.

“Leather actually, but close.” Josh smiled, meeting Tyler’s disgusted scowl.

“Yeah, that’s _fantastic_.” Dallon turned away from Josh, fully intent on kicking the shit out of Tyler.

“Listen, you scrawny fucking _freak_ -” Dallon began to speak again, standing over Tyler. Quiet laughing interrupted him mid sentence; a hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

“Okay, okay. I get what you’re going for here,” Josh giggled out, unable to keep a straight face, “But please, for all of us, just _fuck off_. You’re not scary, like...at all.”

Dallon grinned back, stepping away from Tyler. “And if we don’t?”

“I’d like to think you’re smarter than that.” Josh spoke in a teasing tone, still grinning.

Dallon laughed, glancing at Brendon and signaling him with a nod. Josh was slammed into the locker, Brendon’s arm against his chest.

“I guess I was wrong.” Rolling his eyes, Josh craned his neck and shouted down the hall. _“Frank!”_

Everyone turned their attention down the hall to see a short, black haired boy in a hoodie ten sizes too big staring at them idly, waiting for that signal. Upon hearing his name shouted, he met their gaze with a wide grin and bolted down the hallway.

“Fuck!” Brendon shouted in panic as he let go of Josh and sprinted down the hallway, tailing after Frank.

Dallon turned to Josh who was still leaning against the locker, catching the breath that Brendon slammed out of him.

“Fucking _faggot_.” He spat at Josh through gritted teeth, letting go of Tyler and taking a step towards him.

Suddenly Rian grabbed Josh, gripping his arms and pulling them behind him, a smirk broke out on Dallons face.

“You really want to do this?” Josh rolled his eyes with a laugh, struggling a little against Rian’s grip.

“Yeah, I do.” Dallon snapped before swinging his fist at him, a sharp pain shot through Josh’s jaw.

“Wow, you’re _weak_.” Josh huffed out another laugh, antagonising Dallon more.

Before Dallon could throw another punch, Josh flung his head back, headbutting Rian. Rian stumbled backwards, tripping over himself and landing on the floor with a hard thud. Josh grabbed Dallon by his shirt and tackled him to the floor, pinning his arms down. Tyler looked on in fear as Josh brought his fist down across Dallon’s face, a crunching noise filling the hallway. Overkill his full intention at this point, Josh threw another punch; this time disturbing the pooling blood in Dallon’s now broken nose.

**  
**  


Tyler stood against the locker, terrified, as blood splattered against Josh’s clothes.

**  
**  


\----

**  
**  


Frank ran as fast as he could down the hallway, taking sharp turns here and there. He could hear Brendon’s footsteps close behind, followed by his constant yelling. Frank rounded a corner, not looking where he was going, and collided with a fellow student, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

“Watch where you’re going!” She snapped at him, Frank shrugged, unable to say anything.

Suddenly he felt a hand grip his arm and pull him up off the floor roughly, Brendon looked at him with a grin.

“Damn, you’re fast for a short kid.” Brendon laughed as he backed Frank up against the wall, looking at him menacingly.

Frank looked up at Brendon with wide eyes, opening his mouth to say something but as always, nothing came out.

“W-W-What’s wrong?” Brendon mocked him.

Frank was a selective mute with a terrible stuttering problem, and Brendon knew that. Everyone did. Rather than speaking for the world to mock, Frank took up sign language, and occasionally pen and paper speech instead.

So, instead of responding, Frank gave him a weak smile and shrugged.

“In my opinion, there’s a _lot_ wrong with this.” A loud voice rang through the hall, Brendon winced, his smile quickly turning to a wide-eyed look of fear.

Brendon slowly turned around, and was met with a stone faced Lyn-Z.

“U-Um” Brendon audibly swallowed, she glanced at Frank before turning her attention back to Brendon.

“Wanna explain to me what was going on here?” She put her hand on her hip as she pointed at Brendon accusingly.

“Well…” Brendon trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

**  
**  


A soft giggle erupted from behind them, Brendon turned around to see Frank pull his hoodie up over his mouth, trying to stifle laughter.

“Hey!” Lyn-Z clicked her fingers, Brendon spun around again to face her. She pushed him aside and threw her arm around Frank’s shoulder.

“If you try to hurt him again, those shorts are going up your ass, not that it would make much of a difference.” She gestured towards him, another high-pitched giggle erupting from Frank.

Lyn-Z turned to walk away, satisfied with helping, only to be stopped by a suddenly worried Frank.

 

In a quick flurry of hand movements, he started to sign, Lyn-Z’s face turned to one of panic.

__

_“Josh is in trouble?!”_

Frank nodded quickly, gesturing for Lyn-Z to follow him as he started to run back up the hallway.

**  
**  


\----

**  
**  


“Holy shit” Tyler looked at Josh in shock, hands shaking slightly, tears threatening to spill from fear.

Josh looked up at him from where he was sitting on the floor leaning against the lockers, breathless. Dallon was lying on the floor, unconscious.

“Josh?” Lyn-Z’s voice came from down the hall, she was running towards them with Frank in tow.

Josh waved at her from his position on the floor, smiling tiredly.

“Josh wh- _oh my god._ ” She stopped in her tracks, looking at Dallon, _“Really?!”_

Josh let out a weak laugh, “He started it, I swear!”

“What have I told you about hurting people? I mean, we get it okay, you’re ‘tough.’” Lyn-Z made air quotations as she rolled her eyes.

“He deserved it.” Josh protested, pushing himself off of the ground.

“That doesn’t matter.” Lyn-Z snapped at him, pushing him down the hallway towards the nurse's office. “Come on, we have to get rid of the evidence on you.” She looked at the blood on Josh’s shirt in disgust, earning another laugh from him.

Tyler stood there, still in shock. Frank looked at him with a tilted head before walking up to him. He started making signing motions with his hands.

“Um...what- what’s he doing?” Tyler turned to Josh, who had now stopped to watch on in amusement.

“He’s asking if you’re okay, dude.” He rolled his eyes; Tyler turned back to Frank with a weak smile and nodded.

Frank giggled, grabbing Tyler by his arm and pulling him in the direction of the nurse's office. Lyn-Z just shrugged and pulled Josh along.

“Hey, you know, a thank you would be nice.” Josh smirked, Tyler averted his eyes, face going red.

  
“I didn’t need your help. I would’ve been _fine_.” Tyler snapped before turning on his heel and storming off.


	3. Synonym: Adorable.

“Tyler! Wait-” Josh shouted as he ran down the hallway after Tyler, catching up to him and grabbing his arm.

Lyn-Z and Frank came to a stop, exchanging curious glances.

“What could you _possibly_ fucking want now?!” Tyler snapped, pulling his arm from Josh’s grip.

“Wow. Okay. Rude.” Josh rolled his eyes, earning a glare from Tyler. “I just saved you. You could at least try and be nice.”

“You _saved_ me?” Tyler laughed, “So? Do you want a fucking medal?”

Josh let out an over-dramatic gasp, clutching his chest as he looked at Tyler in offence.

“Yes, yes I do actually!”

Tyler crossed his arms, looking at Josh with a bored expression.

“I didn’t have to save your whiny ass, but I did.” Josh continued, “I mean- look at the bruise you caused!” He pointed to the purplish mark on his jaw, “How am I supposed to cover THIS!”

“Technically, I didn’t cause that. You decided to act all tough and step in.” Tyler huffed, pouting slightly, “No one asked you to do that.”

“Oh please, like _you_ could defend yourself. You’re like- three feet tall.” Josh grinned, looking Tyler up and down.

“Oh really? I can defend myself just fine.”

“Prove it.”

Suddenly Tyler brought his hand up and swung it at Josh, but Josh was too quick and dodged it, resulting in Tyler tripping over himself and falling flat on his face.

“Aw. How adorable.” Josh cooed from above him, Tyler lay there in shock for a minute, not fully processing what the fuck just happened.

“C’mere.” Josh grabbed Tyler and pulled him off the floor. He started pushing him down the hallway.

“W-Where are we going?”

“Nurses office.” Josh shrugged.

**  
**  


\---

**  
**  


After another loud argument in the nurses office, Josh storms out, muttering something about being late for an appointment.

“You can go now.” The nurse smiled to Tyler, who returned the smile and got up, walking out.

He was walking up the hallway to his next class when suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, he kept his eyes to the floor and quickened his pace. He glanced up momentarily and froze as Rian rounded the corner, heading straight for him. He turned on his heel and started walking the other way, only to be stopped by Gabe, towering over him with a grin.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

\---

**  
**  


“See you next week!” Josh smiled as he walked out of the room.

“Bye!” Ms.Croddick smiled back, giving a small wave as Josh left.

Josh’s mom was sitting in the waiting area outside, preoccupied with one of the magazines that was left on the table beside her. He walked over, clearing his throat slightly to catch her attention.

“Oh! Hi sweetie! How was therapy?” She beamed at him as she stood up, pulling him in for a hug.

“It was great, mom.” Josh chirped happily as they broke apart-.

They started walking down the hospital hallway, heading for stairs. As they walked down, they heard shouting coming from the ground floor.

“Those..those _assholes_!” The voice shrieked, Josh stopped in his tracks.

He recognized that voice.

Leaving his mother behind, Josh ran down the remaining flight of stairs.

_“Tyler! Watch your mouth!”_

“Mom. They _broke my fucking nose._ ”  

Tyler pressed the cloth to his nose, walking over to the waiting area and sitting down. His mom was at the front desk, explaining what happened to the receptionist. He leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back to alleviate the blood flow.

“I told you you needed me.” A voice appeared from the chair beside Tyler, causing him to jump.

“Wha- _Josh?!_ ”  Tyler looked at him in surprise, “...Did you follow me here?” He narrowed his eyes.

“ _Really_? I mean- you’re cute and all, but I’m not a stalker, dude.” Josh grinned, a blush crept up Tyler’s cheeks.

“Shut up.” Tyler mumbled, tilting his head back once again, holding the cloth tightly to his nose.

Josh paused in thought for a moment before looking at Tyler, a smirk on his face.

  
_“I’ll take that medal now.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'd like to thank doge for being our our inspirational motivator for the night, and although we died about 37 times, and sanic wants Tyler's blubber, and WHO KNOWS WHERE WE'RE GOING JOSH!  
> we'll call this one a success.
> 
> PeriodicallyBleeding: WHERE THE FUCK DOES RIAN KEEP DISSAPEARING TO I AM IN A PUDDLE OF TEARS RN  
> Z_ai: plot twist rian's a ghost


	4. Synonym: Charming.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PeriodicallyBleeding: Sorry this took so long, shit happens yo ~

 

 

“So, if you didn’t follow me,” Tyler began, looking at him suspiciously. “Why _are_ you here?”

 

Josh shrugged, giving him a sideways grin and a simple “therapy.”

 

Tyler nodded, avoiding questioning him on what therapy implied.

 

“So, Tyler! Who’d you piss off this time?” Josh spoke again, quickly changing the subject.

 

"Apparently I did something to annoy that kid from Uruguay- Gabe? I think?" Shrugging at the last part, Tyler focused his attention on his bleeding nose again.

 

“Gabe? He’s one of those weird theatre kids.” Josh thought for a moment before speaking in a confident tone, “I’ll have to kick his ass next time I see him.”

 

“I don’t need you to protect me.” Tyler mumbled, speaking more to convince himself rather than respond to Josh.

 

“They broke your nose, Ty.” Josh reminded, earning a strange look from the other.

 

 _“Ty?”_ Tyler laughed, raising an eyebrow. “Where the fuck did that come from?”

 

“What? It’s cute, like you.” Josh winked at him, causing the other to blush.

 

“If this is your sorry-ass attempt at flirting, it isn’t working.” Tyler laughed.

 

“That blush tells me otherwise.” Josh grinned, Tyler rolled his eyes and leaned back once again, pressing the cloth against his nose.

 

“If my nose wasn’t broken, I’d probably punch you right now.” Tyler muttered.

 

“Make sure you don’t fall again.” Josh teased, earning a glare from him.

 

“Hey, don’t lean back, you’ll make it worse.” Josh piped up, breaking the sudden awkward silence. He reached over and nudged Tyler’s head forward.

 

Tyler whined, swatting Josh’s hand away, “I can do it myself, Josh.”

 

“You said that about the fights, too. Now we’re here.”  Josh sighed, trying not to sound like he was worried.

 

“Why do you care so much?” Tyler questioned, not even bothering to look at him.

 

“Why don’t you?”

 

“Look, I don’t need you looking after me.” Tyler raised his voice, causing Josh to jump.

 

“Tyler look at you, you obviously can’t protect yourself.” Josh sighed, leaning back into his chair.

 

“Well why do you want to?” Tyler glanced over at him.

 

“Really? Who else is going to do it?” Josh rolled his eyes, Tyler went back to staring at the floor, face flushing a light tinge of red.

 

“Look I get it okay, you’re supposed to be a ‘jock.’” Josh made air quotations, “But you’re like 8, so... I’ll protect you from now on.”

 

“Dude that’s so gay.” Tyler huffed out a laugh, Josh held up his hands in defence.

 

“I’m doing it as a friend, no homo, I swear.” He grinned, Tyler averted his eyes once more.

 

“Josh? Honey?” Josh’s mom walked over to where they were sitting, she looked at the two in confusion, “Who’s this?”

 

Josh and Tyler looked at each other, a smirk broke out on Josh’s face.

 

“You remember that guy I mentioned?” He turned to his mom, a scheming look on his face.

 

“Oh! You’re Tyler?” She gasped, “I’ve heard so much about you!” She beamed, Josh suddenly went wide-eyed and looked at Tyler in panic.

 

“Mom please don’t do this-”

 

“Oh he never shuts up about you! ‘Tyler’s so cute, Tyler looked at me in class today, Tyler this Tyler that-”

 

“Mom- oh my god, mom stop.” Josh put his head in his hands, Tyler looked at him with a smug grin.

 

“Aw, Joshy! You talk about me?”

 

“He sure does! I was wondering when I was going to meet yo-”

 

“Okay mom we’re leaving, like _now.”_ Josh stood up quickly, gesturing towards the exit.

 

“It was nice meeting you! You should come over sometime!” Josh’s mom smiled over her shoulder as Josh hurried towards the door.

 

Tyler sat there in shock for a minute, a blush on his face. He paused in thought for a moment, debating with himself.

 

 

_Do it._

_What if he was joking though?_

_This is your chance to test that! Do it!_

_This is stupid, I’m not gay._

_Okay maybe that’s a lie._

_Well…_

_Fine._

 

 

Tyler stood up, quickly following after Josh. He caught up with him outside, just as he was about to get into his car. He latched onto Josh’s arm, turning him around to face him.

 

“You- You said you wanted to protect me, right?” Tyler spoke quickly, holding his hand out. “Gimme your phone.”

 

Despite confusion, Josh handed him his phone. Tyler rapidly started typing something into it, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He shoved the phone back into Josh’s hand before turning on his heel and walking away. Josh glanced down at his phone;

  


**_New Contact Saved_ **

****

**_Ty ♥_ **

  


 

Tyler was back in the waiting room when his phone beeped, he pulled it out and looked at it;

 

 

**_1 New Message_ **

****

  
**_Ty? Really? Gaaayy._ **


	5. Synonym: Sweet.

Tyler was still asleep in bed past noon the next day, the broken nose had earned him a day off from school; his mother being hesitant to send him back until the kids who had done it were ‘taken care of.’

 

When he finally woke up, he rolled over to the sound of his phone beeping, he grabbed it from where it was buried in his pillows and looked at it;

  


_**1:26pm** _

  


_**8 New Messages** _

  


_Joshy:_ Why aren’t you in school???

 

 _Joshy:_ Tyler?

 

 _Joshy:_ Tyyyy send me nudesss

 

 _Joshy:_ TYLER PLS

 

 _Joshy:_ TYLER WHERE R U

 

 _Joshy:_ BABY DON T LEAVE ME PLS

 

 _Joshy:_ I AM IN NEED OF COMFORT HOW DARE U

 

 _Joshy:_ r u dead

 

Tyler blinked at his phone, rolling his eyes as he typed a reply.

 

 _Ty:_ please let me sleep

 

 _Joshy:_ only if u let me sleep with u

 

 _Ty:_ are you texting me in class

 

 _Joshy:_ yes.

 

 _Ty:_ please get an education instead of texting me

 

 _Joshy:_ ok on one condition.

 

 _Ty:_ yes?

 

 _Joshy:_ u go to this concert with me

 

 _Ty:_ will it get you to stop texting me

 

 _Joshy:_ yes.

 

 _Ty:_ deal.

 

Tyler sighed as he put his phone on his bedside table and rolled over, fully intent on going back to sleep. He lay there for a minute before realisation hit him; he shot upright and grabbed his phone, typing quickly as his face flushed red.

 

 _Ty:_ wait, did you just ask me on a date?

 

 _Joshy:_ :)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PeriodicallyBleeding: "MOM MOM IS THREE TOO URGENT????" i am cryign  
> Z_ai: Three question mark s is too urgent-


End file.
